Project gives kids place to play
By Nyshicka Jordan
Staff Reporter

Leibrock resident Tiffany Danna evicted her daughter’s play kitchen from their apartment because she said they had no room for it. But Danna said 4-year-old Beth did not have to say goodbye forever because the kitchen now sits in Leibrock’s Hill House play area where Beth and other residents’ children can play with it.

After a successful first month run, Leibrock Village’s Hill House play area has met its creators’ goals and in the process has sparked consideration for future play areas, Nancy Grieser, director of Brite Housing, said.

“The goal was to create a safe and fun place for the children to play and learn,” Grieser said.

Grieser said she contacted Mary Patton, an associate professor at the School of Education, about resources.

Patton said she suggested the play area as a project for her students in her play and creativity course. Five students chose to do it in place of a different project she assigned to the rest of her class, she said. The assignment was for students to create a play area that promotes all levels of development, she said.

The play area is located beneath a stairwell inside Hill House. It has been available for residents since Dec. 7 and operates from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily to observe Leibrock’s quiet hours, Grieser said.

The play area is not a daycare resource, Grieser said. She said she asked that at least one parent be in the area when children are at play.

Grieser said the items in the play area were donated by families of Leibrock or are materials students collected through other avenues. She said she gave the students a $100 budget to spend the way the group chose.

Emily Hart, a junior early education major, said this project allowed her to apply knowledge learned in class and gain skills she can use in her future teaching career.

“When you are going to be a teacher you realize you’re not going to have a lot of money to make a classroom,” Hart said. “It was frustrating, but we were able to make a great place with a limited budget.”

Fourteen children live in Leibrock who are between the ages of 3 months and 7 years, Grieser said.

For younger children, play areas develop physical, social and cognitive skills because children learn through their play, Patton said.

“Materials are open-ended and designed to promote creativity and problem solving, which are the cornerstone of learning,” Patton said.

Parents’ feedback has been positive, Grieser said. She said the play area has also been a benefit because it gives families a chance to interact with other families in the village.

Danna said she agrees that the play area promotes community and that she enjoys the convenience it provides.

“It shows that the village is family friendly and cares about the (children),” Danna said.
Grieser said a future goal is to have an outdoor playground, but the estimated $10,000 needed for the project is currently unavailable.

Grieser said she plans to create a play area in Leibrock’s Abell-Hanger House at the request of parents. The space for the future play area has already been determined and some items have been donated by Leibrock families, she said.

Grieser and Patton said they would like for students who choose to do so in the summer play and creativity course to create a play area in Abell-Hanger with the same goals, but that has a different atmosphere from the present play area.

Nyshicka Jordan